A Look Down the Bench at… Igor Kokoskov

The Cavaliers organization took a lot of flack for the speed at which they hired Mike Brown. After firing Byron Scott, the team wasted no time (okay, they wasted 10 days) in bringing Brown back into the fold. At the time, many criticized the unsexiness of the move, even suggesting that it reeked of panic.

If Dan Gilbert and Chris Grant are fools for rushing in, however, the same cannot be said for Brown who has been methodically assembling his staff of assistant coaches since re-boarding the Cavalier boat.

The names we all expected to see – mainly former Pistons head coach, John Kuester, an assistant under Mike Brown in both Cleveland and Los Angeles – despite being heavily rumored, never surfaced. Instead, Brown trended “developmental” by retaining Tristan Thompson god-maker, Jamahl Mosely, from Byron Scott’s staff, adding former Lakers player development coach, Phil Handy, and, most recently, adding former-Cavs Vitaly Potapenko in a player development role.

Lost among all this development, might be the most significant one: Brown’s hiring of long-time Phoenix Suns assistant coach, Igor Kokoskov. Kokoskov has been an NBA assistant for 13 years, working for Alvin Gentry (Clippers and Suns), Larry Brown (Pistons – including their 2004 championship season), and briefly both Terry Porter and Lindsey Hunter (Suns). For Hunter’s brief stint with the Suns last season, Kokoskov was considered the team’s offensive coordinator, while Hunter ran the defense, a situation that is likely to repeat itself with the Cavs.

Most of the information we’ve been given about Kokoskov is exceedingly positive. Gentry has called him “one of the brightest minds as there is in the game” and former player, Earl Boykins gushed about Kokoskov’s point guard-focused offense.

But none of that has given Cavs fans any real sense of what a Kokoskov-run offense will look like. So, I talked to someone who has actually watched a little Kokoskov-run offense: Ryan Weisert* from Valley of the Suns.

CtB: Ryan, you got to see a bit of the Igor Kokoskov show this season as he became Lindsey Hunter’s lead assistant. Earl Boykins said “He believes point guards should have the ball all the time.” What, if anything, can you tell us about the type of offense Kokoskov likes to run and what he might bring to the Cavs?

RW: I think Boykins’ quote hits Kokoskov right on the head. He really trusts and relies on point guards offensively. For most of Igor’s time in Phoenix, the Suns’ offense relied on Steve Nash. During the earliest parts of that tenure, the Suns offense was among the best in the league. Though their efficiency and points per game has dwindled somewhat in recent seasons, the Suns’ reliance on their point guard has not. It was not a perfectly smooth transition from Nash to Goran Dragic by any means. The Dragon, as he’s affectionately known in Phoenix, struggled out of the gate as a starter. But around the time Lindsey Hunter took over and Kokoskov became lead assistant was when Dragic’s production really started to take off. Goran’s assists and points per game increased every month under Hunter, culminating in averages of 18 points and 9 assists over the final month of the year. That’s incredible production for a player in his first year as a full-time starting point guard in the NBA. It’s also a testament to Kokoskov’s offensive philosophy. The Suns have always been at their best when they played up tempo and let their point guard, be it Nash or Dragic, run the show. Kokoskov will definitely help the Cavs get out and run more in transition, especially considering all the youth on the roster. He is also good at utilizing his lead guard in a way that suits his skill set. Nash was incredible in the pick and roll, so the Suns ran that a great deal before he was traded. Dragic isn’t as good in pick and roll, but he is a great penetrator and plays really well off the ball. This season, the Suns focused less on pick and roll and more on giving Dragic driving lanes and moving him around the perimeter without the ball. I expect Kokoskov to use every one of Kyrie Irving’s skills and really give him a ton of different ways to attack a defense.

CtB: What has watching the Suns made you believe are Kokoskov’s strengths as an assistant (and, specifically, an offensive) coach? What are his weaknesses/shortcomings/bad habits?

RW: That question is a bit difficult to answer for a few reasons. First, before Alvin Gentry stepped down, Kokosov’s role among the coaches was not as prominent, so it’s difficult to make judgments about his coaching strengths before that time. Teams don’t having coaching depth charts, but over his first few years he was definitely lower on the totem pole than guys like Elston Turner, Dan Majerle, and even Gentry himself before he was made the head coach. After the departures of the three coaches I just mentioned in early 2013, Kokoskov served as lead assistant to Lindsey Hunter through the remainder of the season. But it’s not a great idea to judge his coaching talents and offensive insights on such a small sample size, especially considering how awful the Suns played during that time. None of the blame for the Suns’ mountain of late season losses should be laid at Igor’s feet. There was little he could do to stem the tide of the Suns’ precipitous decline. First off, Marcin Gortat got hurt in early March which seriously limited frontcourt depth and altered Phoenix’s lineups. Second, the Suns were subtly, and at times not so subtly, tanking for a better draft pick. They accomplished this by giving playing time to younger players like Kendall Marshall and Wesley Johnson. Both of those guys’ production definitely picked up at the end of the year, but their increased minutes combined with the team’s overall lack of direction and chemistry led to some pretty poor offense as the season wound down. I think all that can be said definitively about Kokoskov as it pertains to the latter part of this Suns’ season is that Dragic’s success is mostly his doing, especially with Lindsey Hunter’s focus primarily on the defense. The increase in Dragic’s assertiveness and the versatility he showed as a scorer are evidence of what Igor can do when working with a talented ball handler. How Kokoskov will do in terms of building a system/offense/playbook still remains to be seen as he didn’t get a great opportunity to install anything amidst all the upheaval in Phoenix.

CtB: With a lot of focus in this year’s playoffs being on “systems,” both offensive and defensive (i.e. Oklahoma City is a more play-based offense, while, say, the Bulls for example run an offensive system) would you call Kokoskov a system guy? Should we look toward D’Antoni and Gentry’s offenses as indicators for what he might do?

RW: Having cut his teeth under Mike D’Antoni and Alvin Gentry, I seriously doubt Kokoskov will institute a called play-centric offense in Cleveland. Both Gentry and D’Antoni were system guys who espoused an offensive philosophy for their players to interpret as opposed to coaches who prowled the sidelines calling out plays on every possession. I would expect Kokoskov to be more of a football (soccer) manager than a football (NFL) head coach. D’Antoni’s system was Seven Seconds or Less. Gentry’s system was similarly up-tempo, though he preferred to use a deeper rotation to keep the pace high and the pressure on the defense up. As I mentioned before Kokoskov hasn’t gotten a real chance to implement a full offensive system yet, but he should get that opportunity in Cleveland, especially with Mike Brown more known as a defensive coach. I would expect his system to be very up tempo and really utilize the Cavs’ youth. I would be shocked if the Cavs didn’t increase their transition scoring rank (25th according to Synergy) under Kokoskov. I would also expect Cleveland, and Kyrie specifically, to attack out of isolation plays less often as they institute more ball movement and more defined sets.

CtB: Outside of Kyrie Irving, who on the Cavs stands to benefit from the type of offense Kokoskov likes to run?

RW: Should Marreese Speights return, I think he could have some success under Kokoskov. Luis Scola had a great deal of success operating from the high post and running the pick and pop with Goran Dragic in Phoenix this past season. Speights is actually a good shooter from 16-23 feet and most of his attempts out of pick and roll this season were jumpers. His accuracy and opportunities to shoot could definitely increase. I also think Nerlens Noel, if he is the #1 pick, could have some success. A penetrating point guard like Kyrie is going to generate easy buckets for a big man with hops, active feet, and decent hands. Whenever the opposing center has to slide over to keep Irving from getting an easy layup, the lob or dump off is going to be there for Noel. Kokoskov’s system is going to create driving lanes for Irving which means Noel will have opportunities to finish buckets close to the hoop.

CtB: Thanks, Ryan!

So, Brown has brought in a lead assistant with experience creating offenses suited to elite to above average point guards. That’s great news. We got one of those!

The other big take-aways: Kokoskov’s focus on ball movement will hopefully quell Kyrie’s love of isolation, Dion Waiters is a pretty talented guard who would seem to benefit from a guy who likes finding ways for talented guards to succeed, and Anderson Varejao is a pretty good pick-and-pop threat in the Scola mold… you know, for 30 games or so.

*Ryan Weisert is lifelong Suns’ fan-turned-blogger currently living in exile in St. Louis, MO. He has written for Valley of the Suns for two years. When he’s not breaking down the Suns or writing for his personal blog, Spectavius.com, he can be found at St. Louis University where he works in a lab during the day and pursues his MBA at night.

35 Responses to “A Look Down the Bench at… Igor Kokoskov”

I guess as long as he focuses on PG’s with BALL MOVEMENT, than that is a good thing. Relieved to hear that is one of his focuses, at the beginning I was getting worried we’d repeat as Kyrie Iso all season, similar to what we had with Lebron. Also more worried than that, as PG Centric offenses have a tendancy to dwindle in the playoffs. Moral of the story, it is good to have a coach who knows how to make your point gaurd thrive when your best player is a PG. But while he should maximize Irving’s talents, the most important of those talents needs to be running a complex, efficient offense, not simply going ISO as best he can.

Just based on this story, makes me feel better about our coaching team. We seem to have a good player development group – which is really important for a young team. We have one of the better (top 5 or so) defensive coaches as our head coach. And it appears that we now have a offensive coach that has worked with and excelled with a great point guard. This all feels right for this Cavs team.

I read an article (either here or on espn) about a potential trade where the Cavs would acquire Isaiah Thomas from the Kings for out 19th pick. With a PG focused offense, I can really see where this would make sense. If we are able to sign a productive Oden we could take Porter #1 and we’ll have our SF and a big and could afford to trade the 19th pick.

Obviously nobody knows what’s gooing to happen or how the team is going to operate, but I feel better ‘knowing’ that Brown has an offensive specialist coach on the staff.

I’ve read about that same rumor. I’m not sure how I feel about it. It looks as though Thomas was instant offense and did well for Sacramento last season, which would make sense for a PG-centric offense. My only concern is that he is 5’10 or 5’11, and I would prefer our backup PG be more capable on defense with Kyrie struggling there. However, there will probably have to be a trade off between offense and defense for our backup PG, or else they would not be a backup PG.

I’d prefer to hang onto the #19 and sign a capable veteran PG to backup Kyrie, because I hold out hope that we pick, develop, and hit a home run with the #19 (like OKC with Ibaka). I’m also not willing to pass on Noel to take Porter, after signing Oden. To count on Oden for anything moving forward would be a very large mistake considering he can’t stay healthy. If he can be a 10-12 MPG, defensive backup center, great. But he won’t be anything more than that. I’m not about to pass up on the player with the highest ceiling (Noel) because we signed arguably the most injury prone player in the NBA.

Really enjoyed this, Robert. Thanks. It was a welcome change from draft madness.

I really think there are better point guard prospects than Isaiah Thomas for the #19. Shane Larkin, if he’s there (and would probably be there at 13 if the Cavs traded up), and Peyton Siva (who might be there at #31) were both excellent P/R guards in college. Siva was also one of the nation’s best defenders. Larkin was no slouch either on D, and is possibly the best athlete in the draft. Both are bigger than the 5’9″ Thomas. I wouldn’t give up a first rounder for Thomas. Heck, even Michael Carter-Williams is likely available at 13, and would be a defensive improvement over Thomas. Nate Wolters would also be worth a 2nd round flier, or an undrafted free agent look.

Trading the number one pick in a weak draft for a young, starting SF who finished his rookie year with a higher PER than Beal, Waiters and Barnes? Yep, sounds like insanity to me. Good thing Noel is a can’t-miss prospect…no worries there.

I am interested in how much player development is CLEARLY the focus of the coaching staff around Brown this season. It echoes what San Antonio does. Also seems like a clear sign that the Cavs have addressed Brown’s two weaknesses in his last go-round with the team. I cannot help but see this as a positive…

” if the Cavs are taking Noel #1, they’ll need 19 for a SF. Provided they don’t obtain #13 from Dallas.” We’ll see. I’m of the mind you take the best player available there, too. Especially if Mitchell’s gone. Most of the Mocks are showing the Cavs taking Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at 19.

If you put stock in PER, MKG is already a better player than Beal, Barnes and Waiters. So I guess we’re looking at a potential superstar if he fixes his shot…and just about every player on the planet has improved their jumpshot from their rookie season.

Players can improve their shot, but players usually cannot FIX their shot. There is a big difference between the two. Considering the guy has been playing basketball for a long time, and after his rookie season in the NBA he still has a terrible hitch in his mechanics, I don’t think there is a high probability he will become an average shooter.

I compare him to a more physical, better rebounding, SF version of Larry Hughes.

The only knock on MKG is his lack of a jumper. A jumper that is already superior to anything in Noel’s offensive arsenal. He also has 2 intact ACL’s, some muscle, and looks poised to become an elite defender for years.

Noel has a laundry list of question marks and red flags. MKG needs to fix his jumper. Noel has no offense, but people here want to nitpick MKG’s offensive game? smh

The only aspect of basketball that Noel is superior to MKG is blocked shots. And height.

The response is “well, Noel’s defense will have a bigger impact on games because he’s 7 foot tall” I agree, but there are several “ifs” before Noel becomes this monster in the middle. Starting with his left knee.

MKG is along the line of actual trade value I see the #1 pick having this year. Winning the lottery was the best possible scenario for the Cavs from a value point, but it doesn’t hold a ton of actual trade value at this point.

It’s still possible Grant goes about things the same way Morey did last year. His big fish deal didn’t happen until the eve of the season.

Grant has so much flexibility, it’s nearly impossible to predict what he’s going to do.

I’m wildly interested in the “laundry list of questions marks and red flags” that Noel has. His knee injury is one, and the best doctors in the world will check him out. If he checks out, what are the other “red flags”?

He is the best athlete in this draft. He is 6’11, an athletic freak, and an elite shot blocker.

He is able to finish with BOTH hands equally well, which is quite astounding 1) for a big man and 2) for a guy with a raw offensive game. Considering he is able to finish with either hand gives me reason to believe he has a much better chance to develop offensively than someone who can’t.

A center does not need a jump shot. To compare MKG’s lack of a jump shot to Noel’s lack of a jump shot makes no sense. Noel can be equally elite defensively, if not more so, considering his position and his RARE ability to be an ELITE shot blocker.

MKG is disastrously below average shooting the ball from every single spot on the court other than at the rim, which he is exactly average. He is not a tremendous finisher – he is an average one. He is physically gifted, but a lot of players are. He does the little things well, but NOTHING great. He might be a great on ball defender, but I doubt he’ll ever be historically good. Nerlens Noel brings something rare to the table which MKG never will.

The fact that you think a completely broken jump shot is something that isn’t a big deal is astounding. The fact that you think MKG is worthy of a #1 overall pick is laughable. Nerlens Noel is a better prospect than MKG is. I respect MKG as a player, but he does not and never will have the abilities necessary to change a franchise. He’s a great piece, but not elite. Noel has a chance to change a franchise.

Charlotte would trade MKG for the #1 in a heartbeat, and would laugh as soon as they hung up the phone. Both players need to develop to justify their draft placement. Noel’s upside is higher than MKG’s, and he has no “broken” aspect of his game. If MKG never develops a jump shot, he’ll be a rotational player. If Noel never develops an offensive game, he’ll still be tremendous finishing on fast breaks, above the rim, will be an elite rim protector, a great rebounder, and will give us something that very few, if any, other teams have. There are plenty of centers who can’t shoot and are still great players. There are very few SF’s who can’t shoot that are great players.

I think you make a really good point on Cavs hiring Brown so quick now looks brillant. I would never believe Hollins , Karl and even Del Nigro who had winning records AND to the playoffs would be fired. And the teams out there don’t seem comfortable hiring anyone who has never coached a NBA team before. DId Grant and company have any idea or foresight? Idk…

You guys are sleeping on Isaiah- 4 6ft and under players in the history of the NBA have had a TS% of > 0.56 twice by the time they were 24- CP3 (3 times) Mark Price, Ty Lawson and Isaiah. Going up to 6’2 and you add in guys like Tony Park, Kevin Johnson, John Stockton, Mo Cheeks and George Hill. Going up to 6’4 guys and under and the worst players you add to the list are guys like Barbosa while the best guys are guys like Steph Curry, Dwayne Wade and Deron Williams.

To score as efficiently as he has done the past two seasons is very encouraging for him continuing to be a quality offensive weapon. I doubt you are getting any PG @ 19 with better than a 15% chance of being as good offensively.

Doctors can’t predict if/when a player will have a/another knee injury. However, considering Noel had a knee injury in HS and now again in college, those are 2 red flags. Consider his slight frame and raw offenisve game – with or without doctors o.k. he is a questionable pick.

I agree about his freakish athletic ability and height, but Ryan Hollins is also noted for his combination of atleticism and height (also came from a great basketball program at UCLA) and that didn’t get him very far. It’s not easy for players with that kind of build to gain a lot of weight or strength. With a history of knee injuries (2), if we traded the ability to draft Noel and instead made a deal to take MKG or draft Porter instead, that wouldn’t be a bad move.

Noel has great upside IF his body holds up, IF he gains weight and strength and IF he develops to his potential. However that’s a lot of IF’s and selecting Porter/Mclemore as closer to ‘sure things’ with the #1 pick with less upside – or trading for MKG who could still turn into a very very goold all-around playe wouldn’t be a bad thing. Not suggesting this is what the Cavs should or will do, but to not have serious concerns about Noel and his realsistic upside wouldn’t be prudent (even with doctors blessing)

Noel has no offensive game except for finishing alley-oops and the occasional straight-line drive to the hoop. That’s a red flag.

He has the body of a PF like a Kevin Garnett, but not even 5% of KG’s offensive game. His body is nowhere near ready to bang with NBA centers. Can you imagine Noel trying to guard Roy Hibbert? Now THAT is laughable even if he is back to 216 or whatever his playing weight was. red flag.

Free-throw shooting form is ridiculously atrocious. Worse than anything from MKG…tells me he will have to improve greatly just to see playing time at the end of games. That’s a red flag.

I definitely disagree that Noel has a chance to radically change this franchise unless we’re talking negative impact and he busts. Dwight Howard changed a franchise without any offensive game because he could bully his way to the hoop…Noel is not that type of player because he can’t back anyone down, not even in college.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Noel’s game and if he hadn’t injured his knee (again) I wouldn’t be questioning him as the top pick. But to suggest that the knee is his only red flag, I vehemently disagree.

I would flip #19 for Isaiah Thomas, but only if my boy Jamaal Franklin isn’t on the board when we pick. Getting Thomas would at least solve our backup PG questions, but I’m really high on Franklin’s potential as a super-sub/Tony Allen-type player with better offensive game.

Dumb question: The TWolves’ C Pekovic is an RFA… any idea yet what he will command? Could we go big on a 1 year contract then try to resign if YKW doesn’t arrive? Or should we drive up the bidding to make it hard for Minny to keep Love? Or?? :)

A Dallas friend heard a highly-placed rumor that Cuban wants to go all in to get Superman but they
p.s. SA need every penny of cap room – what he heard was Matrix & #13 for someone they can waive (SM makes ~$8.6 MM) or future draft picks. Sounds like what some of you are hearing.

Pekovic will probably command 10-12 million. He’s not really worth that, but it’s what above average centers get. I would much rather drive up the price and Minnesota keeps him at like $40 million over four years. If they struggle, Love could become available. Just because he isn’t available now doesn’t mean he won’t be by the All-Star break.

Considering that Larry Nance’s weight was around 205 pounds, according to basketball-reference.com, and he had a pretty decent career, I would say your “red flag” about Noel’s weight is considered laughable. Also I’ve read Noel’s playing weight was around 220-230 in college.

Vesus, You are underestimating Noel’s offensive game. Its very raw, for sure, but the guy has a pretty good handle for his size, and had a better O-Rating coming out than guys like Hibbert and a bunch of others. He’s also the youngest player in the draft. He will get better, if he stays healthy. That is a definite flag I worry about as well, his knee injuries. But his weight is near a non-issue as Hibbert and dwight are about the only centers in the league who would abuse him right now, and that is before this barely 19 year old has had an offseason of professional strength training. If he’s a PF you would certainly question his Jumper, as a Center its not nearly the concern of MKG.

I could see drafting porter or the like, but I don’t want MKG. You need spacing in today’s NBA, and MKG is woefully inept there. The guy had a respectable shooting % and thus a good PER because he only took the same kind of shots you deride Nerlens for and managed to find just 8 attempts a game for a bad bad charlotte team. When that is considered, his 49% doesn’t seem like such a good percentage. For a defensive center who wholly effects everyone on the other teams shooting percentages (and averages another steal a game on top of the 2 extra blocks) and who will likely bump that offensive percentage to 55-60% that is an entirely except-able offensive game, and something Nerlens should be able to do from day one with no improvement. For a guy who will just slow down one perimeter player? Not so much.

I could see if we can get a decent youngish starter to trade down to take porter, but no way I would trade nerlens for MKG, knee and all. MKG will not be much more than a bigger more versatile Tony Allen. A useful player, no doubt, but not the franchise changer Larry Sanders is.

Yes, I did saw you need spacing in todays NBA, and Nerlens is bad at that. You can afford one guy who can’t shoot, especially if they are a big. I’m not sure you can afford two. It makes me nervous about TT and Nerlens… but we’re still at the stage where you take the best player you can, I believe. That said, I entirely expect to be surprised before the draft anyways.

Nance played small forward, had jump shooting range to 18 feet, and mostly played on the perimiter. Noel is being projected as a “rim protector”, and will be asked to body up against Marc Gasol and Roy Hibbert. Nance wouldn’t be able to do that either. It’s not just about weight….it’s about weight for the position.

lance played power forward throughout most of his career. I also remember seeing a few games where he played center, and he didn’t look outplayed at that position. To be honest I’m not worried about Noel’s weight. I mean it’s not like he wil stay at 206 pounds throughout his entire playing career right?

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